As you may have noticed, I’m not a BA and nor is anyone else on the panel! The common factor between us all is that we rely on what the BA delivers to perform our various roles.

The role of the BA is a lynchpin in any IT organisation so it is to our mutual benefit that we support each other in the improving and developing each others professions.

There are many common synergies between the role of the BA (Business Analyst) and the TA (Technical Architect) Both our IT roles are still very much in various stages of maturity in many organisations. Both were born from the role of System Analyst. Both struggle for recognition and acceptance from many quarters. Both have passionate bodies that support them and they both have strong links to organisations such as the BCS. Both have developing standards and best practices that are being updated all the time.

I have to say that the questions we have are very thought provoking (controversial?) so it going to be a very interesting experience for all. The panel will be very interactive, we will be encouraging comments from the floor and straight afterwards will be drinks where we hope to continue the conversation and an opportunity to network.

I’m very much looking forward to it. It will be interesting to get to know another profession that is relied upon. What is the challenges, interests and direction? Only by getting to know other neighbouring roles can we ever hope to improve our own.